When Philippines President Benigno Aquino III pushed forward a controversial health bill yesterday that seeks to subsidize contraception in the predominantly Catholic country, he set himself up for possible criticism from more than just the country’s powerful Catholic church. Another likely foe: Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.

The famous athlete, who is also a congressman representing the Philippines district of Sarangani, has come out swinging against the idea of using state funds to make contraception more widely available in the country, which has one of the highest birth rates in Asia.

“God said, ‘Go out and multiply.’ He did not say, just have two or three kids,” he said in an interview earlier this year with the Philippines’ GMA Network, shortly after returning from Las Vegas. Mr. Pacquiao has continued to reference contraception as one of his key political issues, arguing that lawmakers should instead focus on laws that would alleviate poverty, rather than using government funds to subsidize birth control. Southeast Asia Real Time has more.